Celebrating Māori and Pasifika Innovation: A Virtual Internship Journey
When 24 of the brightest, most curious minds from the Māori and Pasifika communities step into Google New Zealand's halls, amazing things happen.
Even though it was through a virtual internship, these students and working professionals didn't let that stop them from dreaming up solutions to some of the Pacific's most pressing challenges, and picking up important career skills.
This virtual internship program, a first in Aotearoa, was part of our collaboration with TupuToa to foster Māori and Pasifika representation in the tech industry.
Over three weeks, the 24 interns, divided into four groups of six, immersed themselves in mentorship and innovation, guided by four Googler mentors based in New Zealand and the United States, including Rob Coyne, Jacob Chalkley, Justin Keown and Hautahi Kingi.
The internship threw down the gauntlet: "If you could develop and change a Google product, what would it be and why?".
Fuelled by the challenge and their Googler mentors, the interns responded with four novel and innovative ideas, each with the potential to transform the lives of Māori and Pasifika communities.
These include an AI-powered mental health product for Māori and Pasifika communities, earlier disaster alerts, enhanced ways to trace Māori and Pasifika ancestry using Google tools, and a more efficient Google Scholar indexing system for research related to these communities.
As we delve into the feasibility of these four concepts, mentor Hautahi Kingi reflects on the profound impact of this internship program. His own journey, from growing up on a marae near Whanganui to becoming a Google Data Scientist in New York, resonates deeply with the aspirations of these interns.
Hautahi Kingi says he’s proud to have become the representation he longed for as a young person - a symbol of success for Māori and Pasifika individuals in the tech industry.
“It was a privilege to have the opportunity to work with these impressive and talented rangatahi,” he says. “The future looks bright for tech in Aotearoa.”
For TupuToa Initiative’s chief executive, Anne Fitisemanu, this was a much-needed step in the right direction. “Programmes like this internship are the foundation for TupuToa, that really help support and grow curious minds and foster innovation. The talent pool in our communities is vast and deep, and we’re proud to work alongside our partners to provide a platform to seek and nurture it.”
Google New Zealand is proud and thrilled that this program has ignited a spark in these 24 youths. They leave with a deeper passion for tech, connections with the tech industry, and skills that will serve them well in any field they choose, among them problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.
We’re excited to see what the future holds for them and grateful to TupuToa for their partnership. We look forward to working together to build an even more inclusive tech landscape in and around New Zealand.
Give it up for these 24 interns! Amish Kumar, Anaya Cole, Asifa Hanif, Gloria Tawake, Hayden Richard-Marsters, Lachlan McCreanney, Lauryn Maxwell, Lenalei Chan Ting, Lomaloma Pepine, Lucas Bawden, Malia Carter, Maria Munsanda Analega Ioane, McKay Leehmann Rimbao, Michael Heavey, Miracle Faamalosi, Paulo Opetaia, Rahera Williams, Sakura Kawakami Potaka-Dewes, Tele Tamati, Tom Tamaira, Vensel Margraff, Zachariah Hunt.
And a big shout-out to the awesome foursome who clinched the Google challenge with their idea for a mental health virtual assistant, designed to bridge the gap between young people and mental health resources: Sakura Kawakami Potaka-Dewes, Zachariah Hunt, Lucas Bawden and Maria Munsanda Analega and Lachlan McCreanney (with mentor Justin Keown).